GoPro Hero Review: Great Midrange Action Camera

He $199 GoPro Hero comes from a strong lineage, bringing excellent audio and video overall performance, a smooth-to-use contact-screen interface, remote manage via a cell app, and picture stabilization to a cheaply priced movement camera. For the ones no longer interested by 4K resolution or notable-high body rates, the GoPro Hero may be the pass-to action digital camera in this charge variety, however, it faces steep opposition from the Yi Lite, which fees $100 much less.

Design
Leading action-digital camera manufacturer GoPro has lengthy set the bar for movement-digicam design and functionality. The $199 GoPro Hero is the employer’s price range alternative to the top-of-the-line GoPro Hero6 Black ($399) and last yr’s Hero5 Black ($299).

Just by searching at the Hero versus any of those different better-stop models, one would be tough-pressed to tell the distinction between them. The Hero continues the identical bodily layout: a matte grey outdoors, an energy/mode button at the proper aspect, and a button on the top to take pix and start recording.

A small, rectangular display on the front highlights the mode, recording time, how a good deal recording time is left on the cardboard and the battery charge, while a small, almost imperceptible LED inside the top-left corner turns purple to signify the digital camera is both recording or charging.

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On the rear is a -inch contact display with menu gadgets and facts that run alongside the pinnacle and backside edges. A wheel-like interface allows users to without difficulty change those settings.

Compared with the carbon-fiber the front of the Yi 4K+ action digital camera, the layout of the GoPro Hero seems a little “blah.” However, its native water-resistant capability truely makes up for that.
And eventually, the bottom carries a door with each the battery and the microSD card, at the same time as the left side has every other door that contains both a USB Type-C and mini HDMI port. For the camera to be waterproof, all of the doorways want to be securely closed. However, in case you’re recording over longer intervals of time or taking time-lapse snap shots, you could do away with the side door, allowing the camera to be plugged in via its USB Type-C plug while it’s miles recording. It’s an available function, for certain.

Compared with the carbon-fiber front of the Yi 4K+, the design of the GoPro Hero appears a little “blah,” but its local water-resistant capability (up to 33 toes) honestly makes up for that.

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The GoPro Hero comes with a few accessories, inclusive of the maximum important one: a frame-like housing that permits the digicam to be installed to any wide variety of GoPro and third-celebration accessories. Unlike the Yi 4K+ and the Yi Lite, but, the GoPro does no longer have a built-in tripod mount — a mild disappointment.

Ease of Use
Even if you have not used a GoPro because the organization’s shift to touch-display screen-based models, you should sense properly at home because the interface is pretty intuitive.

Switching modes may be accomplished either via the use of the mode button on the right side or truly touching the icon inside the bottom-proper nook. Once it’s in a selected mode, all of the best settings are displayed on-display. Touching any of those icons allowed me to easily change the resolution, body fee, a discipline of view (FOV), burst charge or any of the opposite settings.

Like its big brothers, the Hero five and the Hero 6, I become in a position to show on Wi-Fi within the digital camera and connect with it using the Google Pixel 2 and the iPhone 6s Plus with none troubles. Through the app, I ought to trade settings, view formerly recorded clips and start recording even as watching the output of the digicam on my telephone’s screen. When I became the phone on its facet, the video changed to panorama, which changed into high-quality.

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Unlike with the Yi models, I did now not ought to disable records on my Android phone to get the app to paintings properly with the camera.

Video Quality
For most people of my testing, I kept the GoPro Hero set at 1080p/60 fps, even though the Hero also can shoot at 1440p at as much as 60 fps. That’s a massive difference between this version and the greater high-priced fashions within the line, which pinnacle out at 4K/30 fps (Hero5 Black) or 4K/60 fps (Hero6 Black). I definitely commend GoPro for not which include 4K with a subpar body rate or not enough processing strength to make the pictures appearance exact.

Unfortunately, 1440p and 1080p at either 30 or 60 fps are the simplest two decision/frame-fee mixtures to be had. Surprisingly, 720p isn’t always provided, and there’s no gradual-motion choice, in contrast to greater steeply-priced fashions in GoPro’s lineup.

GoPro – Driving -1080p at 60fps

GoPro – Driving – 1080p at 30fps
Video shot throughout a street experience through Vermont was awesome. Trees have been lush and a deep shade of green, whilst the sky regarded a saturated blue with white, wispy clouds. The traces and the symptoms on the street were the suitable colors of white and yellow. Additionally, the GoPro Hero did an adequate activity of recording information inside the shadows of the trees.

While we have been transferring more or less 50 mph, photograph stabilization helped hold the video clean in all, however, the bumpiest sections of the road. When I paused the video, I should see person leaves within the sunlit sections and leaves in the shadows.

I additionally hooked up the Hero to my motorbike to get a facet-by using-aspect comparison of the Yi Lite, which additionally has digital photo stabilization.

YiCam Lite vs GoPro – 1080p 60 on motorbike
Both cameras accomplished in addition at 1080p/60 fps. The footage from both cameras become usable, and neither made sense overly nauseated whilst looking it.

Audio Quality
The GoPro does not want a plastic housing to be water resistant. Instead, it is based on a frame that allows it to mount to add-ons. The gain of this layout is that the audio first-class may be lots better than that of a digicam that does need a water-resistant housing.

GoPro – Audio Test
In the photos at the same time as driving, you can honestly pay attention the wind noise, however, the digicam’s internal software program appears to lower it to an audible degree so as now not to drown out the whole thing else. In the video taken even as I become on my motorcycle, you could easily listen to the vehicles passing on my left.

In the pictures whilst riding, you could virtually hear the wind noise, but the digital camera’s internal software program appears to decrease it to an audible stage so as no longer to drown out the entirety else.
Compared with the sound in video considering the Yi Lite, the GoPro Hero’s audio first-class became slightly higher at foreground voices and noises. However, the wind-noise discount in the GoPro Hero video become ways advanced, outputting a usable clip.

Bottom Line
The $199 GoPro Hero is a solid performer, presenting great video as much as 1440p, adequate image stabilization, a water-resistant housing, an intuitive interface and a wonderful app.

If you are searching out a price range movement cam, test out the Yi Lite ($99), which additionally has image stabilization and shoots video akin to that of the GoPro. There are a few exchange-offs, however: It wishes a housing ($forty, sold one after the other) to make it water resistant, its Android app is a bit wonky and it lacks a hint display screen.

If recording 4K or slow-motion video is essential to you, pass up to the Yi 4K+ or last 12 months’ GoPro Hero5 Black, both to be had for $299. But if you need an exceptional midrange motion cam, the GoPro Hero is a wonderful guess.